Comic Book Moments of the Week for 09/21/11

 

Just one more week to go in the big DC relaunch! This week we're got two flagships in Batman and Wonder Woman hitting the ground, along with the debuts of controversial comics Catwoman and Red Hood and the Outlaws. We also have origins unfolding in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Blue Beetle, a retcon in Avengers: Children's Crusade, and X-Men: Schism has the two bestest buddies in the world at each other's throats. Much, much more after the jump.

Avengers: Children's Crusade #7

Cyclops was in a bad mood this week. Here he really doesn't want anything other than to arrest and sentence Wanda, but in order to do that he and the X-Men fight the Avengers. Wanda just puts everyone to sleep with a spell and heads back to Latveria with the Young Avengers.

And here we go with what the ultimate plan seems to be for Wanda, a demon did it. Similar to Hal Jordan and Parallax, Wanda was possessed by something which caused Disassembled and M-Day. So in typical fashion Wanda, Doom, and Wiccan try to summon the spirit again, only for everything to go sour and Doom obtains a magical power boost that even fixes his face.

Batman #1

Bat-computer contact lens, this is the real Brother Eye, huh? It's also used quite well as a way to get exposition out there to the reader without being cumbersome. It even has a built in lip reading system.

And the bat-boys get ready to wow the wealthy to raise money for Bruce's new plan to build Gotham up with new buildings and skyscrapers, much like was hinted at in Batman & Robin last month. But of course Bruce can never stay in one place too long in formal wear...

..and heads out to a crime scene. I really like how Bullock kind of knows the original is back under the cowl simply because he sticks to the shadows. 

Blue Beetle #1

Jaime really didn't need a new origin, but here we go, with frequent Nightwing rogue Brutale hitting the scarab in Jaime's backpack, making it bond to his back.

Captain Atom #1

No real confirmation if Nate still got his powers as the result of a military experiment, or if it was a different type of accident. He does seem to have gotten rid of the whole time hopping and becoming crazy dictator stuff, at least for the time being.

And here Captain Atom seems to be borrowing a bit from Firestorm.

Catwoman #1

Selina goes pretty crazy when she puts on a wig, getting revenge on the guy who set up her apartment being firebombed. But that's not the scene that was the topic of conversation on the internet this week.

That's the scene that kind of went overboard (it actually goes on for two pages prior to this). Reminds me of All-Star Batman & Black Canary, only this time there isn't the idea that it's a complete self parody of a writer's work from twenty years prior.



Daredevil #4

It's funny, Matt wants Foggy to lose weight but the things that will really kill him are things like getting stabbed during prison riots and the Hand always trying to kill everyone close to Daredevil. If the man wants to eat some candy bars, I think that's a fair compromise.

This is my scene of the week, and a great way to address what happens to a hero's clothes when they have to go from place to place. It's a lot classier than sticking everything in a web backpack. These little moments of insight are why I love comics.

Generation Hope #11

Like issue #10, this issue is one of those "not part of the main story but we really, really suggest that you read it" stories. A giant metal super sentinel is heading for Utopia, and the Five Lights along with the Young X-Men decide to help Cyclops defend the island until other mutants can get back from their worldwide Sentinel cleanup. The only person who wants to run is Laurie, and has her own schism with Hope on the subject.

It's a good guess from Gabriel, right?

Green Lantern Corps #1

That is a nice explanation of sectors for patrolling. With that kind of attitude Guy can't fail in getting a job as a high school football coach!

Oh. Poor Guy, that last panel is so sad. He really does want to help. John didn't have a good day either, having his plans for additional building structure reenforcement be shot down.

While a handful of other redshirt lanterns were being killed off this issue, the Earth GLs got some nice characterization time here. Much like Green Lantern followed straight from the last series, this feels like Tomasi is picking up from the last GLC issue he wrote.

Heroes For Hire #12

Silver Sable is going to spread so much gossip. In her defense though, it is hard for one mercenary to see another mercenary not charge for kicking butt.

"Atlanteans don't use drugs, Imperius Rex!"

Marvel Universe vs. Wolverine #4

Deadpool does keep his cannibalism in check, because that's what buddies do for one another. Why Jonathan Maberry hasn't gotten a Deadpool mini is beyond me. While those two go fight the Hulk to protect the scientists, Frank and Cap take out some of Hulk's tribe.

Laurence Campbell's art has been great throughout the series, but with this issue the way certain panels lack background is actually a plus, not a negative. That's just a strong page, with or without words.

And that's how Hulk forgets what he was doing, he may regenerate his brain but he can't remember how much he wanted to eat humans. The issue actually ends on a very cool note, that works as an epilogue to not only this story but Marvel Universe vs. the Punisher as well.

Near Death #1

The new Jay Faerber Image comic, this is the story of a hitman who has a near death experience and then realizes he has a lot to make up for. Especially if he killed some children. A good issue that reads like a TV show (because it was originally written for TV), check it out if you're a fan of crime comics.

Nightwing #1

Dick's new apartment, in the worst part of town. I get his reasoning for when he's Nightwing, but the guy who is heir to the Wayne fortune might be better off somewhere where people don't try and kill him in the street.

See? I told you so, Grayson! New villain guy there pretty much acts like he came out of an Image comic in the 90's; stone cold killer, cryptic sayings, wolverine claws (or is it X-23 claws?).



Red Hood and the Outlaws #1

And another instance of comics not really getting women, Starfire, who seems to have no memory of her past with the Teen Titans, just wants some sex from Roy or anybody. This is one of those things where trying to make her devoid of emotion not only runs against her past attitude, which was still full of sexuality, but also makes her appear to have some mental issue that adds a whole other layer of weirdness to the scene. And it would be kind of a shock for anyone who watched the Teen Titans cartoon to see Kory act like this to boot.

Supergirl #1

Kara seems to not really be a morning person...

This is a cool moment, where Kara's super-hearing kicks in and she's actually hearing lines from other books, Nightwing line from up above and what I think was Stormwatch.

Cool way to end the issue. If Kara had Streaky with her everything would have been totally mellow, because no one would attack someone with a kitty.

Thunderbolts #163.1

 Satana's hideout, or a lost ride at Disneyworld?

Melissa nods off on the way to finding Satana, and we get a history of the Thunderbolts up to now. As a big fan of the first 75 issues of Thunderbolts, it looks really odd with Hawkeye not being on Mount Thunderbolts, as he was their longest serving leader. What say you, thunderfans?

Spider-Man is in no position to talk, he's on three teams to Cage's two.



Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2

Ninjas on your DVD means it's going to skip an awful lot.

And so you have the origin of the Ninja Turtles in this new series, as well as how Raphael got separated from his brothers. But he's busy being best buds with Casey Jones now, so it's not a complete loss.

Wonder Woman #1

It's really easy to leglock and headbutt a centaur when you're about 7 feet tall (no really, Diana is really tall with this reboot).

Diana can even banter these days! But the way centaurs are created this issue, I kind of wonder if that hand won't grow a pair of legs and start attacking them.

Maybe throwing Zola around with that lasso wasn't a good idea after all.

X-Men Schism #4

Wolverine refuses to listen to the kids reasoning for siding with Cyclops, but instead gets a detonation switch from his room that will be able to blow up Utopia when the Sentinel touches ground. So now it turns into a literal debate over "stand your ground" or "run and fight another day."

And there were go, with a Sentinel reaching Utopia and the lives of half the mutant population at stake, the two biggest names in the X-Universe duke it out over Jean. Again. Emma's going to be really upset when she gets that space slug off her head.

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